With the extension, the company will continue overseeing 375 employees and operating 146 vehicles throughout the city. Currently, First Transit transports more than 12.8 million riders within Phoenix and the neighboring communities of Avondale, Glendale, Goodyear, Peoria and Scottsdale.

The pilots will include a combination of dedicated bus-only lanes that take bus riders out of car congestion, technology to time traffic signals so that buses get more green lights, and platforms that allow riders to “level-board” the bus quickly as they would a subway.

The MetroHealth Line was developed as part of a naming rights agreement between RTA and The MetroHealth System, executed earlier this year, to rebrand the No. 51 family of routes. Those routes have the second highest bus ridership after the HealthLine.